Riot By Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst: diamond encrusted skulls; animals exposed in formaldehyde; butterflies decomposing; giant pills - there's a reason why Hirst is one of the most celebrated British artists of our time. His work never ceases to astound, always pushing conceptual boundaries, confronting the nature of art head-on, while dazzling his viewers with compelling and provocative pieces. Hirst's recent 'Eat the Rich Series' consists of 12 prints, each one an allusion to the current political climate, aesthetically modelled around pharmaceutical packaging. 'Riot' depicts a conventional pill box, containing 300mg of 'Riot Capsules' and branded with Hirst's self-titled, imaginary drugs-company logo. Like Warhol's soup cans, Hirst presents a familiar commodity, tweaking it only slightly, to produce a visually striking work of art. Conceptually powerful, the piece summons the politically anaesthetised society that the last number of decades has bred, but which increasingly promises to bubble into something riotous, rebellious, and revolutionary…